Tracking device



1,4545621 R. BUKOW TRACKING DEVICE Filed Dec. 30, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May s, 1923.

lf, 1 Q NW GJ T n J. wm-

m 2 6 mw. MW W V www@ m n a Tum-lll@ o ov o j 1| a n @ma o o WQ Q mw.- o j@ l1 III w? R. w, 5 L @im L Nw/k m @ML Im%\ ,May 8, 1923.

R. BUKOW TRACKING DEVICE;

Filed Dec. SO 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 May s, 1923-. 1,454,621

R. BUKOW TRACKING DEVICE Filed Dec. SO, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 w A m MMI gf 29 V m l INVENTOR E//v/foLo .5u/rom 4 ATToRNEY Patented May 8, 1923.

UNITED, STATES REINHOLD BUKOW, F ASTORIA,

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK,

ASSIGNOR TO HARDMAN,

y PECK 6c C0., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TRACKING DEVICE.

p Application led December 30, 1921. Serial No. 525,900.

To all whom t may concer-n; s

Be it known that I, REINHOLD BUKOW,

a citizen of the United States, and resident of Astoria, Long Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tracking Devices, of which the following 1s a specification.

My invention relates to improvements 1 n tracking devices for player pianos and similar instruments, by which the tracking mechanism not only retains the correct register between the music sheet and the track er, but also accommodates itself to variations in width of the music sheets.

The accompanying drawings illustrate different embodiments of my invention.

Fig. l is a plan of a music spool and related parts;

Fig. 1"JL is a fragmentary elevation of the adjusting devices;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the tracking mechanism immediately below the spool;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the left hand cheek block of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan of another style;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the same;

. Fig.l 6 is an end elevation of one of the pneumatics Fig. 7 is a plan of certain details of Fig. 4, showing them separated for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 8 is a plan of the principal parts of the tracking mechanism of athird style;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of the same;

Fig. 10 is a section on theline 10-10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 1l is an elevation ofva modified detail:

Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating the operation.

Referring first to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the left hand cheek block l and the right hand cheek block 2 are connected at the back by a plate 3 forming a box which is open at the front. In the upper part of the box there is carried a driving shaft 4 and in line with this at the left is a free shaft 5 pressed inward by a spring 6 and having on its inner end a conical headl 7 adapted to fit in a socket in the left hand head 8 of a spool which carries the lperforated note sheet 9.

At the opposite end of the spool is a head 10 with a squared socket adapted to be engaged by the squared end of the shaft 4. This shaft is freed during the playing of a piece of music so as to permit the sheet to be dra-wn down by the usual feeding or winding-on roll. Thereafter the shaft 4 is clutched to a driving gear indicated diagrammatically at 4 which rotates it in the backward direction to re-wind the note sheet on the spool. Intermediate between the two rolls is a trackeribar 11 over the face of which the sheet is drawn. It is important that the sheet travel so as to bring the perforations therein in line with the perfora* tions in the trackenbar, and numerous devices for ensuring this correct tracking have been designed.

Some of these work by edge control, a iinger along which the edge of the sheet travels being used to control the pneumatic adjusting mechanism; and others by surface control, the margin of the sheet passing directly over a special part in the tracker-bar which I controls the regulation of the pneumatic adjusting mechanism.

I have illustrated my present invention as an edge control mechanism, which has an advantage in permitting the use of stationary ports although the contact fingers are movable according to variations in the music sheet; but certain features of the invention may also be applied in connection with surface control.

On the outside of the left hand cheek blockl is mounted a pair of pneumatics. The forward pneumatic 12 acts on the control devices at both sides and the rearward one 13 acts on the spool and the sheet carried thereby.

The pneumatic 12 has a small port or bleedhole 14 (Fig 3) communicating with a pipe 15 which leads to the suction reservoir of the instrument. The suction tends to collapse the pneumatic, and a spring 16 tends to expand it. A port 17 also communicates with the interior of this pneumatic and is connected by a tube 1S (Fig. 2) with a bent tube 19 at the opposite side ofthe box; the left hand end of which may be opened or closed by means of a tracker valve 2O carried on a lever or finger 21 which if; pivoted at 22 and the forward edge of which is adapted to bear on the right hand edge of the sheet.

The rear pneumatic 13 has a bleed-hole 23 hand finger.

communicating through a tube 24 with the suction mechanism of the instrument and has a port 25 which is connected by means of a fiexible tube 26 with a fixed elbow 27,

the righthand end of which-constitutes a4 port adapted to beopened or closed` bymeans of a valve 28 on the inner end of a lever or finger 29 which is pivoted vat v30 and has its outer end adapted to bear on the left hand edge of the sheet.

The support on which the finger 21 is pivoted consists of an arm 31 having its rear end fastened at 32 on a support block 33and being flexible and pressed inward by means of a light leaf spring 34. Similarly the finger 29 is pivotally mounted on an arm 35 having its rear end fastened at 36 on a block 37. A spring 38 between the right hand finger and its supporting arm presses the valve 20 to its closing position and a similar spring 39 performs the same function for the left The blocks 33 and 37 are separately mounted on a bar 11a in the plane o and behind the tracker bar 11. Alsomounted on this bar 11a are plates 11b forming supports or wearing plates on which rest the vexible arms 31 and 35 which carry the which its length may be fingers.

y[he movable leaf of the connected by means of a ro 40 at the back of the box, having a turn-buckle 41 by adjusted, with the rear end of a lever 42 the forward end of which bears against the right end of the shaft 4. A spool containing a note-sheet is inserted by pressing back the pin 5 at the left and bringing the ends of the spool into engagement with the pin 5 and the operating shaft 4 respectively. The spring 6 then holds the spool to the right with the end of the operating shaft 4 against the forward end of the lever 42.

If the sheet tracks out of line to the left it presses outward the forward end of the finger 29 and removes the valve 28 from the open end of the tube 27 and admits air to the pneumatic 13. The usual spring within the lattermoves its movable leaf outward which causes the rod 40 to'move to the left and the forward end of the lever 42 to move to the right causing the sheet to be moved by its spring to the right until the inaccuracies are corrected. lVhereupon the finger 29 following the edge ofv the sheet closes the valve 28 an'd the suction lwithin the pneumatic 13 tends to close it sufficiently to maintain theedge of the sheet in correct position against the finger.

The pneumatic 12 acts, notA on the sheet, but on the two tracking'control fingers to move them simultaneously toward or away from eachother. On the forward edge of the-movable leaf of this pneumatic 12 -there is a pin 43 passing through a slotin a rod 44 and clamped at any desired position of ineumatic 13 is 4hand finger 29. At its right hand end the rod 44 is connected to the forwardend -of a lever 46 thel rear of which bears against an ear 47 on the arm 31 which carries the right hand finger. Turn-buckles 48 and 49 serve to adjust the position of the rod 44 vwithy respect to' the right and left hand fingers.

By these adjustments the'normal or starting position of the two fingers with respect to each other is adjusted manually.

As explained above, the left hand edge of thel sheet is automatically held against the left hand finger. If now a sheet of unusual width is used its right hand edge will force the end of rthe finger 21 outward, which will open the valve 2O and admit air through the tube 18 to the pneumatic. 12;'so that the latter will be expanded by its spring and f will pull the rod44 to the'left. This will pull the bearing of the fin fer 29 and the finger itself to the left an the left hand edge of the sheetwill follow it. At the sametime the pneumatic 12 will push the pivot of the right hand finger 21 to the right until, notwithstanding the position of the right hand edge of the paper, the valve 2O will close. This separating movement of the two fingers will take place to an equal extent and to a sufiicient extent to adjust them to the extra width of the paper. The center line of this extra wide sheet will, therefore, coincide with the center line of a sheet vof normal width and the wider sheet will track correctly. If a sheet narrower than the normal width is put into the machine, the arms carrying the two fingers will, by the suction in the pneumatic 12, be moved inward through equal distances toward each other so as to centralize themselves and maintain correct tracking by means of the pneumatic 13 as'first explained.

Thus we have an automatic centralizing of the fingers with respect to sheets of different widths by means of one of the edge control devices, and an automatic tracking or correct running of the sheet by means of the other edge control device. It is advantageous t'o move the fingers'or control devices in one of these automatic adjustments and to move the sheet in the other. But the essential thing is to secure the correct lateral register of the sheet with the tracker-bar and the invention may be applied to a movement of the latter instead of the sheet and tracking devices.

Various other arrangements of mechanism may be adopted for securing the operations stated and I have Aillustrated two such variants in Figs. 4 to 7 and Figs. 8 to 10 respectively.

Referring to Fig. 4, the fingers 21 and 29 are mounted on arms 31 and 35 substantially as in the previous figures. The open tube 19 at the right is connected by a tube 18 with an outlet 50 of a pneumatic having its outer leaf 51 fixed and its inner leaf 52 movable. The pneumatic has a suction port or tube 53 leading to the suction chamber of the instrument and tending to collapse it,

and has a spring 54 tending to expand 1t.`

The movement of the leaf 52 is transmitted through a link 55 to thelower end of a lever 56 pivotally mounted at 57 on the fixed leaf 51 and connected at opposite sides of the pivot and at equal distances therefrom to links 58 and 59. The former link includes a turn buckle 60 by which it is adjustablein length and is pivotally connected at its 1nner end to the arm 35 which carries the finger 29. The latter is pivoted on the arm 35 and by means of a spring 61 is pressed in a direction to close the valve 28. The link 59 leads to the opposite side of the box and, through a turn buckle 62 to the arm 31 on which the finger 21 is pivot-ally connected, with a spring 63 tending to hold the valve 20 closed. Besides the individual manual adjustments through the turn buckles 60 and 62 there is a third adjustment which serves to move both the links 58 and 59 to the right or both to the left. To secure this adjustment the fixed leaf 51 of the pneumatic is mounted at its lower end on arms 51a which are pivoted on an extension from the cheek block 1 and is pulled to the right by means of a spring 64 or pressed to the left by means of a screw 65 passing through a nut 66 fixed on the outer face of the block, the end of the screw engaging a flange 67 on the leaf 51.

If now the sheet is of such width as to press the finger 21 outward and open the valve 20, air will be admitted to the pneumatic and it will expand throwing the movable leaf 52 to the right and moving the forward ends of the two fingers 21 and 29 outward, away from each other, to accommodate the increased width of paper; this movement being sufficient to cause the closing of the valve 2O and the maintaining of the pneumatic in a balanced condition with the two fingers engaging the edges of the sheet.

The pneumatic 68 has a port 69 leading to the suction chamber of the instrument and has a second port 7 O leading through a tube 71 to the tube 27 which is closed by the valve 28. The movable leaf 7 2 of this pneumatic is connected by a rod 7 3 of adjustable length to a lever 74 which acts on the shaft 4 of the music spool as described in connection with the apparatus of the previous figures.

If now the sheet tracks out of line to the left it will open the valve 28 and permit an expansion of the leaf 72 of the pneumatic which will cause the sheet to be shifted to the right until the pneumatic becomes balanced.

In Figs. 8, 9 and 10 there is the same arrangement of valves 2O and 28 on fingers 21 and 29 mounted on arms 31 and 35, and the pneumatic 68 has similar connections to the left hand valve and to the spool shaft.

The lower pneumatic has connections to the right hand valve the same as in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Its movable leaf, however, is connected by a slightly different mechanism to the two arms carrying the opposite fingers. A bent rod is pivoted on the movable leaf 12, constituting an upper rod 75 for connection with the left hand finger support and a lower rod 76 which at its right hand end is pivoted to a lever 77, the opposite end of which is connected through a rod 78 with the support for the right hand finger. In other respects the construction of Figs. 8, 9 and 10 is substantially like that of the previous figures and the operation is the same.

The automaticmechanism described will take care of varying width of a sheet or of differences in width between different sheets and will compel the center of the sheet to run true along the center line between the controlling fingers 21 and 29. These fingers are adjusted to a normal spacing or distance apart and to equal distances from the center line of the tracker-bar by means of turnbuckles 48, 49 of Fig. 2, and the similar devices of the other figures.

But it happens sometimes that the perforations in the sheet are not centralized with reference to its edges. In that case, though the edges are controlled by the automatic devices as described, the perforations in the sheet will all be a little to the right or a little to the left of the corresponding openings in the tracker-bar. The adjusting screw 65 (Fig. 5) permits the user to make the necessary adjustment when such a sheet is encountered. Vith this screw he will adjust the controlling fingers 21 and 29 both to the right or both to the left; and the sheet, following a central path between these fingers,

4will then track truly with relation to the tracker-bar.

The same adjustment of the two fingers to the right or to the left may be effected by the adjusting screw 48 of Figs. 11 and 2. But this is intended primarily for shop adjustment, to bring the center line between the fingers in register with the center of the tracker-bar, which is sufficient for all except such imperfectly punched sheets as I have described.

In fact it is not essential, though preferable for simplicity, to have a special device for such an adjustment. By means of the turn-buckles 48, 49 in Fig. 9, for example, the fingers may be set independently to the left or tothe right sufficiently to secure the proper space between them and to also centralize them with respect to the tracker-bar, or to an off`-center sheet.

Various other means may be provided for securing rthese adjustments. Fig. 11, for example, shows the ends of the rods 75 and 76 passing through a bar 79 which is pivoted on the movable leaf 12 of the pneumatic, the rods being adjustable in the bar 79 and held therein by means f set screws 80. Also these bars may be made adjustable in length by providing them with bends 81, 82 which can be pinched together or spread in order to shorten or lengthen .the rods.

The action of the. mechanism is indicated in Fig. 12 which shows four different positions thereof. The starting position is shown at A, before commencing to operate the instrument. The tracking control devices 21 and 29 are held apart by the spring in their controlling pneumatic, the space betweeny them being equal to or greater than that of the widest sheet which is provided for. The tracking control devices are equidistant from a center line 83. The sheet 9 is held in its extreme right hand position by the spring on its controlling pneumatic. Then the fingers 2l and 29 are in position to close their ports they are represented in solid black, when in the opposite position, in outline.

As soon as the operator commences to pump, the suction is transmitted to both pneumatics. The ysupports for the fingers 21 and 29 will be drawn inward equally toward the line 82. At the same time the sheet 9 will be shifted to the left. TheseI two movements will continue until the sheet is centralized, as in position B, and the two fingers are brought to bear slightly against the opposite edges thereof. This is the regular running position in which the ports controlled -by the. two lingers are slightly opened, just sufficiently to supply air to the pneumatics at the same rate at which 1t is sucked out from the pneumatics.

If the sheet is deflected to the left, as in position C, the finger 29 will be deflected to open its port wide. The finger 21 will close its port, and there will result a shifting of the sheet to the right and an inward pressure on the two controlling devices until the parts again assume the regular position, B.

If on the other hand the sheet shifts to the right as in position D, the port controlled by the finger 29 will be closed and will cause a section in the corresponding pneumatic which will shift the sheet to the left. The port controlled by the finger 21 will have been opened wide so as to cause a separation of the supports for the fingers, but the moving of the finger 21 out of contact with the edge of the sheet will cause the closing of its port, and the same effect will be caused by the movement of the sheet to the left away from the finger 21. There will, therefore, be an inward pressure upon the two controlling devices and the sheet will come to the centra position shown at B, with the two fingers bearing lightly on its opposite edges.

It will be understood that the resetting or adjusting operations described fwill oommence to take place as soon as there is an departure from vthe ideal running position so that at no time will there be any substantial departure from this position.

Though I have described with great particularity in detail certain specific embodiments of my invention, yet it is not to be understood therefrom that the invention is restricted to' the particular embodiments disclosed. Various modifications thereof in detail and in the arrangement of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the invention as defined in the following claims.

ylVhat I claim is:

1. Ak tracking mechanism including in combination a pair of tracking-control fingers co-operating with fixed ports and with opposite sides ofthe sheet and automatic means for adjusting said fingers toward or away from each other.

2. A tracking mechanism including in combination a pair of tracking-control fingers cooperating with Xed ports and with opposite sides of the sheet, means for adj usting them toward or way from each other and means controlled by said fingers for maintaining correct adjustment of' the sheet with relation to the tracker-bar.

3. A tracking mechanism including in combination a pair of tracking-control devices on opposite sides of the sheet, means for adjusting them toward or away from each other, and means for adjusting them together to the right or to the left.

4. A tracking mechanism including in combination tracking-control devices at opposite sides of the sheet, means controlled by one of said devices for adjusting their distance apart to the width of the sheet and means controlled by the other of said devices for maintaining the correct tracking of the sheet, and means for manually adjusting the spacing of said devices from each other.

5. A tracking-control mechanism including in combination a pair of tracking devices and means for adjusting them toward or away from each other automatically under control of the sheet and means for manually adjusting said devices together to one side or the other.

6. A tracking-control mechanism including in combination a pair of tracking devices and means for adjusting them toward or away from each other automatically under control of the sheet, means for manually adjusting said devices together to one side or the other and means for manually adjusting the spacing of said devices from each other.

7. A tracking mechanism including in combination tracking-control fingers co-operating with Xed ports and with the edges of the sheet, each finger mounted upon an independent support, and means for adjusting said supports to vary the spacing of said ingers from each other.

8. A tracking mechanism including in combination tracking-control fingers co-operatng with fixed ports and with the edges of the sheet, means for holding said fingers apart and automatic means for moving them toward each other When the instrument is operated.

9. A tracking mechanism including in combination tracking-control fingers co-op* erating with iixed ports and With the edges of the sheet, means for holding said ingers apart and means actuated automatically upon an incorrect tracking of the sheet for causing an inward pressure on said fingers and a centralizing movement of the sheet.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

REINHOLD BUKOW. 

